The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70

Phygelus

fl. c. 65 (death unrecorded) · Asian believer who turned from Paul · Asia

The Apostolic Age

Who Phygelus was

“This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.” Whether the desertion was of Paul’s person — failing to stand by him at his arrest or trial — or of his teaching, the letter does not say; it names no heresy, only abandonment. The archive keeps the record as scripture keeps it: the church’s first generation remembered its failures by name alongside its martyrs.

Verified single attestation

2 Timothy 1:15 only; unlike Hermogenes he is absent from the Acts of Paul.

Common questions

When was Phygelus active?

Phygelus is dated fl. c. 65 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Phygelus in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Phygelus?

Phygelus is named in 1 primary-source passage catalogued here, drawn from Paul. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Phygelus from?

The archive associates Phygelus with Asia.

Who were Phygelus’ contemporaries?

The archive links Phygelus to 2 other figures, including Hermogenes and Paul of Tarsus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Scripture record

Primary-source mentions (1)

Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

2 Timothy 1:15

c. AD 55
This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
Paul · read ↗

Connected in the archive

People

Events in this lifetime

Place

Places served

The one place the sources put Phygelus.

  1. 1Asiaprovince only

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